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July 15,2007-July 22,2007 |
Luminato puts Italy in the spotlight
Tribute to multiculturalism at the Distillery Historic District
Originally Published: 2007-06-10
Concerts, cabaret, readings, poetry contests and multidisciplinary events have been filling the Distillery Historic District. It’s here that Luminato has been paying tribute to the linguistic uniqueness of the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish cultures, which have given and continue to give a huge contribution to Toronto’s cultural life.
Enormous multilingual Scrabble boards, live poetry booths and huge stretches of canvas were on view where artists and visitors alike portrayed their image of Toronto, in words and signs, and formed the backdrop to a multitude of events and daily shows. At night, music and dance took centre stage with the Luminato Street Party.
Italian artists performing at the Distillery Historic District included actor Charly Chiarelli, singer Rita Chiarelli, musician Michael Occhipinti with his Sicilian Jazz Project, and musician Lazzaroni, proposing a repertoire of Neapolitan songs. Charly Chiarelli — actor, storyteller, playwright and musician — performed his one-man comedic play on growing up in a Sicilian neighbourhood in Hamilton. Cu’Fu is his humorous take on how a Sicilian copes with the difficult moments in life. Much irony, as well as much music from Chiarelli’s harmonica, which translates the culture of his ancestral land into notes. Cu’ fu has also been broadcast on Bravo! and performed in theatres in Italy and Canada.
Rita Chiarelli will perform at the Baillie Theatre on Sunday, June 10, from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. (tickets are $25 each). Difficult as it is to label Rita Chiarelli’s work, her latest CD, Cuore: the Italian session, diverges quite a bit from her usual musical repertoire. In fact, this collection of traditional folk songs highlights her wide vocal range, and exerts great emotional impact even on non-Italian-speakers. “I didn’t understand a word,” remarked CBC Radio host Heather McLeod, “but my heart understood every note.”
The musical evenings at the Distillery Historic District have included a concert of Quartetto Gelato, a performance of The Neapolitan Show by Francesco Pellegrino and Romina Di Gasbarro, and Michael Occhipinti’s Sicilian Jazz Project.
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